Geography

Azerbaijan is located on the western shore of
the Caspian Sea at the southeast extremity of the Caucasus. The region is
a mountainous country, and only about 7% of it is arable land. The Kura
River Valley is the area's major agricultural zone.

Government

Constitutional republic.

History

Northern Azerbaijan was known as Caucasian
Albania in ancient times. The area was the site of many conflicts
involving Arabs, Kazars, and Turks. After the 11th century, the territory
became dominated by Turks and eventually was a stronghold of the Shiite
Muslim religion and Islamic culture. The territory of Soviet Azerbaijan
was acquired by Russia from Persia through the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813
and the Treaty of Turkamanchai in 1828.

After the Bolshevik Revolution, Azerbaijan
declared its independence from Russia in May 1918. The republic was
reconquered by the Red Army in 1920 and was annexed into the
Transcaucasian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1922. It was later
reestablished as a separate Soviet Republic on Dec. 5, 1936. Azerbaijan
declared independence from the collapsing Soviet Union on Aug. 30,
1991.

Since 1988, Azerbaijan and Armenia
have been feuding over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. The majority of
the enclave's inhabitants are Armenian Christians agitating to secede from
the predominantly Muslim Azerbaijan and join with Armenia. War broke out
in 1988 when Nagorno-Karabakh tried to break away and annex itself to
Armenia, and 30,000 died before a cease-fire agreement was reached in
1994, with Armenia regaining its hold over the disputed enclave. Final
plans on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh have yet to be determined.